Reader Mail: 'Do I Have to Take the Tee?'

It's been a while since we did a Reader Mail edition of RW Daily. (And by "a while," I mean "more than a year.") So I thought it'd be fun today to publish a note we got recently from a reader named Joyce:

Hi Mark, I'm sort of new to running and even newer to doing races. Do you have some etiquette rules on race t-shirts? Specifically, when picking up your race packet? I know I sound like a snob, but if I'm just running a 5-K or 10-K and the shirt is cotton with a totally uninspired design and plastered with logos, then I know I'm not ever going to wear it. I would rather just decline the shirt. However, race volunteers seem pretty excited and I feel like if I told them no shirt, they would treat me like I slapped a baby.

Is it rude to decline the shirt? Bad karma? I mean, if they give it to me I'm just going to toss it. I won't even donate it because what less-fortunate person wants to wear a bunch of race shirts? (Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode about tops of muffins.) And also, how many 5-K and 10-K shirts does one need, anyway? I just picked up a bag for a race this weekend and found a hideous cotton shirt that is 2 sizes too big, a bag of dried plums (what's the difference between those and prunes?), and some "corn thins" which taste like Styrofoam or ceiling tile – can't decide which. It was a $45 registration fee! A month ago, I ran a 5-K with a $20 fee and got a nifty moisture-wicking shirt and a nice Nalgene bottle. See... that's a shirt I will wear!

Maybe you could address these questions in one of your blog entries? Enlighten me to any sort of "runner's code" when it comes to these things? Thanks – I'd appreciate your thoughts on this!

Joyce

Thanks for the note, Joyce.

First off, I think it's safe to say I'm not alone when I say:

Awwww!

How nice are you, that you care so much about hurting the feelings of a volunteer! (Seriously!) The world would be a better place with more Joyces.

That said: Of course it's okay for you to decline a race shirt. Especially if it's butt-ugly. Which race shirts, distressingly often, are. I don't think any race volunteer, no matter how thin his or her skin, would take this as a personal affront.

I'll address your remaining questions lightning-round style:

Is it bad karma [to decline the shirt]? No. But every time I see the word karma, I think of this bumper sticker.

What less-fortunate person wants to wear a bunch of race shirts? I don't know. But some of us do wear them; does this mean we have worse fashion sense than the less-fortunate? (It just might.)

What's the difference between [dried plums] and prunes? About $10 million in marketing.

Keep those e-mails coming, folks! Remember that you can contact us any time at rwwebedit@rodale.com or at 400 South 10th St, Emmaus, PA 18098.

Please, no T-shirts.

Mark RemyMark Remy has been with Runner’s World since January 2007—for the first 5 ½ years as executive editor of RunnersWorld.com, and currently as a writer at large.

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